Spring-vehicle.



R. LIEBAU. SPRING VEHICLE. APPLICATION FILED JULY 27,1910.

Patented Mar. 12, 1912.

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SPRING VEHICLE.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 27, 1910.

1,020,209. Patented Mar.12,1912.

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SPRING-VEHICLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 12,1912.

Application led July 27, 1910. Serial No. 574,159.

To all whom it may concern.

Beit known that I, RICHARD LIEBAU, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Watervliet, in the county of Albany and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements Relating to Spring-Vehicles, of which the following is i of the car-frame,

a specilication.

This invention relates to vehicles in which the body is given elastic cushion support on the running gear by means of springs of the telescopic pneumatic cylinder type. 'In my prior application Serial Number 540,807, filed January 29, 1910, I have shown such .cylinder supports in advance of the radiator of a motor vehicle and inside the side-bars and have described and claimed certain transverse tying means for opposing and balancing the twiston the frame due to the point of application of the the weight of the body to the cylinders being at one side of the side-bars. The object of the present invention is to eliminate, practically speaking, all such torsional stress, by locating the pneumatic cylinders in the vertical plane of said side bars and applying the weight of the body to the supports at points directly over the side-bars. To this end I take advantage of the forward location of the cylinders in advance of the radiator by cutting the forwardly extended portions or horns of the side-bars and interposing seats forV the spring cylinders directlyin the line of said side-bars. In the particular form of the invention shown the cylinder seats are formed so as to carry the usual forwardly projecting horns and both the horns and the cylinder seats may be provided with the staying means of my said prior application, if desired, although it is obvious that the central location of the point of application of the weight renders such auxiliary stays less essential, if not unnecessary.

In the accompanying drawings illustrat-V ing the invention by the preferred embodiment thereof, Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of the forward part of an automobile, shown partly in dotted outline, Itaken on the line a-a of Fig. 2; and Fig. 2 is a sectional front elevation taken on the line b-,b of Fig. 1.

In these views,'the numeral 10 indicates the side bars of the load platform, preferably thou h not necessarily in the form of channel lrons. These side-bars are cut transversely in advance of the radiator 11;

`lateral stresses.

and an upward projecting bracket 15 is secured to each side-bar in front of the radiator and directly in line with they side-bar. The bracket is preferably secured to the sidesbarv by means of a rearwardly extending attaching projection` 12, desirably though not necessarlly in the nature of an angle iron itting into the angle-iron sidebar and there secured by bolts. The bracket may be provided with a similar, forwardextending attaching projection 13, to which may be secured the horns'lll, of any customary or desirable form, constituting extensions of the side-bars. The brackets are preferably though not necessarily in the form of tubular hoods inclosng the upper cylinder 16 of the telescopic pneumatic spring, the lower cylinder 18 of which is mounted on the running gear.

The pneumatic springvis supported at its upper and lower ends preferably by universal joints 19f and 20, and these joints are in the vertical plane of the axis of the sidebar 10. The vertical arrangement of the cylinders, notwithstanding their advance location may be provided for by providing lower seats therefor in forwardly projecting ends of lever links as shown in my prior application referred to, but I here prefer the specific arrangement shown in the present drawings wherein the axle 30 is located suf' ficiently in advance of the radiator to permit the spring seat 17 to be located thereon in a vertical plane passing through the axis of the axle. Pneumatic springs of this type operate tobest advantage when free from I have, therefore, shown radius bars or links 21, pivoted at 22 to brackets 23 on the side bars and secured at their forward ends to brackets 211 on the axle. These links may be in the nature of heavy spring blades substantially rigid vertically but sufficiently yieldable laterally, to permit a certain amount of longitudinal twist. One of these links may be connected to the axle by a cylindrical or spherical bearing, as disclosed in my co-pending application Serial Number 540,809, led J anuary 29, 1910. These links transmit the travel-producing impulses from the car body to the front wheels and prevent fore and aft translation or rocking of t-he axle or limit endwise bodily movement ofv the axle relative to the car body I have shown a cross 'link 25 pivotally connected at 26 to the load platform and at 27 to the axle; both connections being preferably ball and socket joints. No claimis made herein `to the` l bers, running gear, interposed pneumatic cylinder supports, upper brackets `for said cylinder supports secured to the ends of said side members in line therewith, and horns T secured to said brackets and constitutingextensions of said side members.

2. In a vehicle, a body having transversely severed side bars, running gear, pneumatic cylinder supports for supporting the body on the running gear, and upward projecting brackets for applying the weight `0 the body to the' upper ends of said supports, be-

ing inserted between the sections of saidl side-bars and having forward and rearward attaching projections overlapping said sections and secured-thereto.

3. Ina vehiclethe combination with the body and running gear, and interposed pneumatic cylinder supports, of, transversely severed body-side-bars, and upper seats for said pneumatic cylinder supports inserted between the sections of said severed side-bars. Y

4. In a vehicle, the combination with the body: and running gear, and interposed pneumatic cylinder supports, of transversely severed body-sideebars, and upper seats for said pneumatic cylinder supports inserted between and extending above the sections of said severed side-bars, the points of application of the weight of the body to said supports ,being above said side bars and in the vertical plane of the axis of said bars.

Signed at East Pittsburgh in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania this 21st day of July A. D. 1910.

RICHARD LIEBAU. Witnesses C. W. MCGHEE, l. E. W. MGCALLISTER. 

